God's Story

Total Treasure

dbwriter4 — Tue, 22 May 2012 00:00:15 -0400

I’m in the middle of spring cleaning. Practically every day I’m putting things aside to give to charities and thrift stores that I no longer want or need. As I look around I see so many things that I have been holding on to, treasuring them, even though they’re not doing me any good.

In fact, just today I found something that I’ve had for several years. I only use it for special occasions, but as I looked at it closely, I realized that this special item was cracked. I don’t know how it got that way or when, but it’s no longer valuable. I can’t use it anymore.

I had to throw it away. Broken. Useless. And no longer treasured.

Lies.

dbwriter1 — Sun, 20 May 2012 16:13:49 -0400

I have no article or funny story for today's post; only the story that sits heavy on my heart tonight.

For the last four years, I've worked closely with a young girl that I'll call "Rachel." When I met Rachel, she was a Freshman in high school. She was cute, bubbly, and always smiling. I had no idea that over the next four years, her world would be torn apart and the cute, bubbly smiles would only act as a cover-up for what was really going on in her world: divorce, custody disputes, the suicide of a close friend, cutting, bullying, verbal abuse, and, ultimately, the abandonment of a parent.

Now, as a Senior, Rachel is weary of the chaos and pain in her world. Too many times she has bought the lie that Satan and those around her have screamed into her ears: that she is of no worth, that she doesn't deserve to be loved or cared for, and that no body would miss her if she were gone. Three times this year, Rachel has attempted suicide, and she's been in and out of treatment facilities and therapy sessions more times that I can count.

I have been blessed with so many opportunities to speak into Rachel's life over the past four years, and God has truly been working on her heart. Just recently, something in Rachel's heart clicked. Jesus became very real to her and the Truth of who He is penetrated her heart. Evenstill, the world is cruel and the lies keep pouring in. Just this weekend, another high school senior, a young man has been sending Rachel text messages, telling her that she should "just give up" and that "nobody would care if she killed herself."

While I don't understand this young man's actions, and I pray that God would convict him of his words, I pray even harder that God would protect Rachel's heart (and all our hearts) from the devil's evil schemes. I pray that, instead, she would cling to the Truth of Romans 8 and know just how great God's love for her truly is.

(Image courtesy of Google Images)

Honoring God

dbwriter5 — Fri, 18 May 2012 00:01:34 -0400

Josh Hamilton Honors God After Record Homers

Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton made history Tuesday night, hitting four homeruns in one game against the Baltimore Orioles.

Hamilton, an outspoken Christian, is the 16th player to hit that amount of homers in Major League Baseball history.

"I think about what God's done in my life, everything I did to mess it up," he said after the game.

"To finally surrender everything and pursue that relationship with Christ on a daily basis and understanding when I don't pursue it, I end up messing up," Hamilton continued. "Understanding that what I'm doing and what God's allowed me to do, coming back from everything I went through and allowing me to play the game at the level I play it, it's pretty amazing to think about."

Hamilton was a first-round draft pick by Tampa Bay in 1999, but soon found himself battling drug and alcohol addiction.

Following Tuesday's historic night, he said it's going to take "a little bit for it to sink in."

Hamilton told fans he prays everyday and will continue to live his life "one day at a time."

"Tomorrow is not promised and yesterday's gone," he said.

Story and Photo from CBNNews.com.

Gold... or Whatever

dbwriter4 — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:01:08 -0400

Olympian Abdi Abdirahman arrived in New York ahead of a race last week with every intention of going for a 50-minute training run. Then his plans changed.

"I just wanted to eat, lie in bed and watch basketball," said Abdirahman, an American long-distance runner. "So that's what I did."

Distance runners tend to be Type A personalities. They weigh their food, chart their mileage and obsess over everything from sleep to stretching. Then there is easygoing Abdirahman, a Somali native who moved to the U.S. as a child. He eats what he wants, likes to party and runs fewer training miles than other marathoners, occasionally skipping workouts altogether.

Despite this approach—if not because of it—Abdirahman will compete in his fourth Olympics this summer.

At 35, Abdirahman is no more expected to win a medal in London than he was in Beijing, Athens or Sydney. In his three previous Olympic competitions, running the 10,000 meters, he never finished higher than 10th. He qualified for the 2012 Games by finishing third in the U.S. marathon trials in January behind teammates Ryan Hall and Meb Keflezighi. His best marathon time is five minutes slower than the world record.

When asked about Abdirahman this week, Alan Ashley, the U.S. Olympic Committee's chief of sport performance, was at a loss. "Who is he?" Ashley asked.

For Abdirahman, winning medals isn't everything. He earns enough money from sponsorships to live comfortably. Competitions take him on trips around the world. And he refuses to endanger his love of running by shoving unappealing amounts of it down his throat. While many elite marathoners run more than 140 miles a week, Abdirahman peaks at about 105.

"He's the polar opposite of any other runners I've ever known."

Story and photo from The Wall Street Journal Online

Transparent

dbwriter3 — Wed, 16 May 2012 04:27:23 -0400

Tokyo makes glass houses

“In a connected world where privacy is a valued, but diminishing part of daily life, home remains a reliable refuge. But here’s one home that intentionally strips away even that illusion for its inhabitants. In this nearly transparent Tokyo home, known as House NA, outsiders can see everything and everyone inside.

Tucked into a quiet residential neighborhood, this three-story, 914 square-foot home was created by an award winning Tokyo architect named Sou Fujimoto. His unusual design, with high glass walls and varying sized modular tables, contains 21 “floor plates” for residents and guests to sit, work, cook, eat, sleep, or play. Some of the floor plates are heated to provide comfort in the winter.

Surprisingly, Fujimoto’s multi-level home design wasn’t inspired by stacked phone booths but rather by the concept of a tree with perches on both high and low branches. “The intriguing point of a tree is that these places are not hermetically isolated but are connected to one another, … “ said Fujimoto, a lecturer at Kyoto University, in a statement explaining House NA.

Though the home is almost entirely transparent, there are curtains that provide some modicum of privacy for occupants. Still, living in a fishbowl might make residents think twice about climbing down to breakfast without first getting dressed.”

article from Yahoo news, and image from google images

Honk! (If you love me)

dbwriter4 — Tue, 15 May 2012 00:00:51 -0400

I had never been so embarrassed! The school bus stopped in front of my house and almost immediately after I stepped off the bus, the horn began blaring. It was a loud and obnoxious sound. And it wouldn’t stop!

The blue station wagon had the attention of everyone on the bus. Kids flocked to the back door and hung their heads out the window to see what was going on. Why was this person laying on the horn behind a stopped school bus?

The loud mournful wail followed me into my driveway, much to my horror. I rushed to get away from the noise, but felt called back to the blue station wagon that now sat in my driveway. Actually, I didn’t feel called back, but since my mom was calling me, from the front seat of the “blue bomb” (the affectionate name my sister and I gave it), I had to face the music (or in this case – the blare of the horn).

My mom had tried to just be friendly and toot at me to say hello since she was arriving home the same time as me. However, what she meant for a small toot, turned into a never ending siren. The horn got stuck. Did I mention how embarrassing that was?

Peaks and Valleys

dbwriter5 — Fri, 11 May 2012 00:01:10 -0400

Colby Lewis makes history in loss

BALTIMORE -- Texas Rangers starting pitcher Colby Lewis took peaks and valleys to a new extreme in Thursday's 6-5 loss to the Baltimore Orioles in Game 1 of a doubleheader.

Lewis gave up five hits -- all home runs -- yet he also had a career-high 12 strikeouts. That made him the first pitcher since 1918 to give up five home runs and have at least 10 strikeouts in the same game.

"It was a freakin' weird game," Lewis said. "I don't know how to justify that game."

Lewis gave up home runs to the first three batters he faced, falling behind 3-0 after just eight pitches as Ryan Flaherty, J.J. Hardy and Nick Markakis all hit home runs. It was the first time in American League history that a team started a game with three straight homers (fourth time overall).

Lewis then did a tremendous Cy Young impersonation, retiring the next 18 batters he faced -- 11 of them on strikeouts. His slider was nasty, his fastball command solid, and he was unhittable. It was an impressive run and unlikely, given his start.

But in the seventh, he lost his remarkable form and gave up two more home runs -- a solo shot to Adam Jones and a two-run homer to Wilson Betemit, allowing six runs on five hits -- all of them homers. He collected a career-high 12 strikeouts in the process.

"It seemed like one of those days where you have really good stuff and if you miss your spot and it's not just a hit, it's a homer," Lewis said. "It was weird. You can't really look at it any other way. It was a weird game."

Lewis, who is now second in the AL in homers allowed with 11 on the year (so 45 percent of that total came in his seven-inning start Thursday), said he felt he threw good pitches on three of the homers. He'd like the slider back that he threw to Markakis in the first, saying he didn't bury it enough. Markakis hit it off the foul pole in right. And he threw a 2-0 fastball that was too high to Hardy, who is hitting the ball well right now and was looking for a fastball on that count.

"He kept us in the game," manager Ron Washington said. "He settled down and made some adjustments. It was just two innings. It just so happened it was the first and the seventh."

Lewis was still shaking his head after the game. He said he felt great, had good stuff and thought he had the energy to even pitch longer. He said he didn't allow the three straight homers in the first to rattle him.

"I'm not worried about it," Lewis said. "Somebody's going to get out. The best hitters get out seven out of 10 times. Eventually, something is going to happen."

Story courtesy of espn.go.com.

Image courtesy of news.google.com.